Lierman, First Woman to Be Elected Md. Comptroller, Expands Transition Committees

Maryland Comptroller-elect Brooke Lierman announced additional choices for several of her transition team’s committees. As comptroller, she will be responsible for fiscal oversight, tax collection and voting on contracts through the Board of Public Works, which will include Lierman, Gov.-elect Wes Moore and Treasurer-elect Dereck E. Davis, the first Black Prince Georgian who has ever served in this position.

In total, 168 people have been assigned to committees. The full list of transition team members is available on Lierman’s Twitter account, @BrookeELierman, and includes Marylanders from different geographical regions,  racial and ethnic backgrounds, generations and political parties.

Lierman’s transition team is majority-women, including the various committee chairs: a first in Maryland’s history. 

An unnamed staffer who is close to Lierman said “diversity, equity, inclusion and accountability are driving parts of the transition team,” and took particular pride in the representation on the Board of Public Works and Procurement Committee.

Outgoing Comptroller Peter Franchot, Prince George’s County Executive Angela Alsobrooks, and Senator Susan Lee are serving as the Honorary Co-Chairs. Franchot has served as Comptroller for the past 16 years after his 2006 primary challenge to then-Comptroller Donald Schaefer and has presided over much of the modernization of the Comptroller’s Office. Alsobrooks’ endorsement of Lierman over Bowie Mayor Tim Adams in the primary election helped propel Lierman to an impressive 45% in Prince George’s County. Senator Lee, the first Asian-American woman to serve in the Maryland State Senate, was an early endorser and supporter of Lierman. 

Health and Government Operations Chair Jocelyn Peña-Melynk, former Maryland Treasurer Nancy Kopp and longtime Lierman campaign treasurer Candace Dodson-Reed are serving as the working co-chairs. There are also three DEIA Coordinators and three Sustainability and Resilience coordinators.

The committees that Lierman established will specialize in: Pensions; Tax Administration and Customer Engagement; Data and Innovation; Board of Public Works and Procurement; Local Government Engagement; and Public Engagement. 

Some of her recent additions to her transition team include:

• Sharonne Bonardi, Co-Chair of the Tax Administration and Customer Engagement Committee.
  • Bonardi is currently the Executive Director of the Federation of Tax Administrators and was formerly Deputy Comptroller, the first ever Black woman to serve as Deputy Comptroller in Maryland’s history. 

• The Honorable Floyd Wilson, Member of the Board of Public Works and Procurement Committee.
  • Wilson was the first African-American member of the Prince George’s County Council and author of Minority Business Enterprise legislation to secure government investment in Black-owned businesses.

• Terry Speigner, Co-Chair of the Data and Innovation. 
  • Speigner is the CEO and President of NGEN LLC, a technology services company based in Northern Virginia.
• Robert Fulton Dashiell, Member of the Board of Public Works and Procurement Committee.
  • Dashiell is a Baltimore-based lawyer with decades of experience who currently serves as Legal Counsel for the lobbying firm Harris, Jones, and Malone LLC. His legal website lists him as an expert in Baltimore City procurement procedures and he also has experience with the Board of Public Works.

• Theresa Mitchell Dudley, Member of the Public Engagement Committee.
  • Mitchell Dudley is currently the Vice President of the Maryland State Education Association and formerly served as a Vice Chair on the Prince George’s Democratic Central Committee. She has publicly stated her intentions to fight for equity in the Blueprint for Education’s implementation. 

There are three former Senators, three former Delegates and numerous municipal officials who have been selected. 

The Local Government Engagement Committee is particularly stacked with elected officials. This committee has six current mayors (representing the towns of Annapolis, Gaithersburg, Mount Rainier, La Plata, Hagerstown and Frederick) along with elected officials ranging from Howard County Register of Wills Byron McFarlane to Maryland Democratic Party Parliamentarian Greg Pecoraro to Baltimore City Comptroller Bill Henry.  

Incoming Prince George’s Council member Wala Blegay, representing a central county district, took to Facebook to send well wishes. “Congrats on a great team,” she wrote.
Interested individuals can apply for the Lierman transition team or submit policy ideas on her website.